Detergents may be presented as either a liquid or a powder. Consumer pressures have changed the appearance of detergent powders, resulting in the introduction of colored particles and optical brighteners to ensure the detergent powder appears white.
The production of a consumer-acceptable powdered detergent presents a number of challenges. For example, the production of detergent particles (such as by granulation or spray drying) can produce a great diversity of particle sizes, providing a powdered detergent that is quite heterogeneous in particle size. Particles that are too small appear dust-like, and cause portions of the detergent to be unable to be captured or used by a consumer. Additionally, dust-like particles may present an inhalation risk when dispensing a powdered detergent. By comparison, particles that are too large may not dissolve completely, thus decreasing the efficacy of the powdered detergent and may lead to powder residues in the washing machine or on the laundry, causing consumer frustration. In certain environments, powdered detergents may also agglomerate into clumps, causing the powdered detergent to be difficult to measure and/or dispense.
Powdered detergents may be provided in opaque boxes. The interior of the boxes may be coated in order to make the powdered detergent appear more white. While this may provide a low-cost packaging method, it is difficult for a consumer to quantify the amount of detergent remaining in a box, or to translate that amount into a number of laundry loads for which there is sufficient detergent. Packaging the detergent in a box also allows the detergent to accumulate in the corners and under the folds of the box, further challenging the quantification of the remaining detergent by a consumer, and causing portions of the detergent to be inaccessible.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a powdered detergent that remains white, produces a pleasant scent, and remains as free-flowing particles of a relatively homogenous size over time. Additionally, it is desirable to provide a powdered detergent in a transparent container, in order to enable a consumer to readily quantify the remaining detergent, and to verify that all of the detergent has been used prior to discarding the container. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.